


The Ladybug Boutique

by Foxmittens



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged Up, Curses, Dress shop AU, F/M, Ghost Stories, Magic AU, Secret Identity, Witch AU, free form, love square, magical mysteries
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-25
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-21 13:12:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6052861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Foxmittens/pseuds/Foxmittens
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Ladybug Boutique was two shops in one. To most it was a modest clothes shop where one could order tailored items for all occasions at a reasonable price, but to those in the know, the shop held something far more magical.</p><p>Marinette spends all her time as the Magical shop owner Ladybug, giving luck charms to lost souls who come into her store, (and making dresses) but while she hands out luck charms as a day job she is not so lucky in love. Even if she is pining after one of her repeat customers, who has time for romance, when you are running a store and fixing curses all around Paris with your magical associate Chat Noir.</p><p>Aged-up Witch AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Lady Luck : Extended first chapter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Ladybug Boutique was two shops in one. To most it was a modest clothes shop where one could order tailored items for all occasions at a reasonable price, but to those in the know, the shop held something far more magical.
> 
> Marinette spends all her time as the Magical shop owner Ladybug, giving luck charms to lost souls who come into her store, (and making dresses) but while she hands out luck charms as a day job she is not so lucky in love. Even if she is pining after one of her repeat customers, who has time for romance, when you are running a store and fixing curses all around Paris with your magical associate Chat Noir.
> 
> Extended chapter one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all. This is an extended, edited and betad (Special thanks to Gloomy for betaing) version of the first chapter,  
> Reasons for updating this first is that it will be more consistent with later chapters, and I there are some details which i felt i wanted to establish a bit earlier, as they will be somewhat important for later chapters.
> 
> It is not necessary to re-read the chapter, most of the addition is the inclusion of the moments Ladybug first meets Adrien (and so we see her in action as a witchy shop owner) and her first meeting with Chat Noir.

 

 Ladybug Boutique was two shops in one. Tucked amongst the numerous little shops of Paris, to most it was a modest clothes shop where one could order tailored items for all occasions at a reasonable price. If you didn’t want something custom made, the shop was cosily stocked with items lovingly designed by its owner, but to those who were in the know, the shop held something far more wondrous.

Patrons of the magical side of the Ladybug Boutique never really sought to find it. They would simply find themselves there, in front of a short young woman with a bright smile and kind blue eyes. Without really knowing why, they would find themselves revealing their loneliness to her. They would ramble all the little worries of their hearts, and it was said, that in the days after they left, their fortunes in love and life would change for the better.

 The reason was simple, the little lady of The Ladybug Boutique was a witch and she specialised in good luck charms and love spells. Her love spells couldn’t make anyone fall in love, but they did give a little nudge of luck in finding one’s hearts true desires, and while she did love to sell her dresses, nothing brought her more happiness than being able to give a stranger in need a little lucky charm.

The only problem was, that while Ladybug could give love and luck to everyone she met, her powers had no effect on her own love life. At twenty-four she had been in love once and it was completely unrequited. Something she complained about to her familiar, Tikki, all the time. Tikki would just smile and tell her “You can’t rush love; sometimes it just needs a bit of time.”

 Sometimes having a 5,000 year old familiar was a bit of a pain. As much as she loved Tikki, having lived for thousands of years made her a bit flippant about waiting for twenty-four of them.

 Sitting with a slight pout on her lips, she thought about how tired she was of waiting, when she heard the sound of the bell at her shop door tinkle. Looking up, she readied a smile for the customer, wondering if they were here for clothes or a lucky charm.

The man who walked in was beautiful, and it was like her thoughts had summoned him, because if there were ever anyone she wished was the leading role in her love life it would be him. With tall, broad shoulders and a lean waist he looked like a model. His face, with delicate expressive features and framed by soft, shiny blonde hair, was angelic. But the thing that made her catch her breath were his eyes, a stunning shade of green, outlined with thick dark blonde eyelashes, were currently staring at her with a mixture of hopelessness, confusion and a tiny but of interest.

“I-I I’m sorry, my feet seem to have taken me into your lovely store on their own accord.” He half mumbled, shuffling his feet as if unsure if he should stay or leave. The magic of the store must have drawn him in. Ladybug realised, and her heart sank.

“You would be surprised how common that is.” She answered with what she hoped was a warm and professional smile. Now, not distracted by his beauty she could sense the aching loneliness rolling off him in waves. Very few customers she had met needed her help more than man did.

“I’m not sure I can leave again.” His eyebrows knitted together and he looked back at the door. “I don’t seem to want to.” He was more perceptive than most, Ladybug mused. She weaved from behind the counter and came up next to him, guiding him two one of the small, comfortable chairs, by the fitting room.

“It’s the magic of the boutique. It wont let you leave until you have found what you are looking for.”

While it was a little dangerous to mention magic to a mundane civilian, Ladybug found it best to be as truthful as she could be, and it turned out most of the time civilians just assumed she was speaking in metaphor. She saw a small smile creep onto her customers face.

“What do you think I am looking for?” He looked up, catching her gaze and her voice caught in her throat. She could sense the challenge there; he didn’t believe she could give him what he truly needed. But there was also a tiny bit of hope flickering in his eyes, not yet squashed by what ever heartbreak had brought him to her.

She sat down on the stool opposite him, leaning forward. Gathering the enchantments of the store to help her find her voice, she asked,

“What you think brought you here?”

She watched as he thought about it for a moment, his finger tracing the pattern of the chair; polka dots, faded a little by the light.

“I am not sure what you mean.”

She gave him her best encouraging smile.

“What was on your mind when your feet brought you through my doors?”

He exhaled and clutched his hands together.

“A lot of things, I am about to see my father this afternoon and I want to tell him I want to quit modelling, and focus on being an engineer. But he wont listen, and I will probably loose the nerve to tell him anyway.”

“What will happen if you do?”

“I don’t know, I’ve never gotten close to being able to say anything, I always stop or get shut down. He’s not a bad man, but he is all I have and I—it’s hard, I don’t want to disappoint him, and I, I have to act like the perfect son all the time. I feel like everyone knows this public version of me, and I can never even be myself.”

“Is that why you want to quit modelling? To escape that public image” In the back of her mind Ladybug realised she had seen this man before, but she couldn’t place him, maybe she had just seen him on an advertisement somewhere.

“I guess... I don’t even know why I am telling you this, this is crazy.” His gaze flicked up to her, blushing. “Maybe it’s because I feel like I can never talk to anyone about how I am feeling, so it’s all bursting out now.” He laughed; the small broken laugh people did when they were trying to shrug off something as if it were not bothering them when it was.

“I just wish there was someone who knew me, who really knew everything about me, and who I could be myself around. Someone who didn’t judge me, or expect me to the perfect all the time.”

Ah. She knew what he needed. Something that felt very much like disappointment swirled inside her gut, as she stood up. With all likelihood, she was about to guide this man to another, even when part of her wished to keep him for herself.

“Well, I can’t sell you such a person at this store, but I think I may have something that will help.”

The man chuckled. “How?”

“A lucky charm.” She said pulling out a bracelet from the jewellery cabinet by the counter. “Maybe it will at least give you some courage in helping you talk to your father.”

That wasn’t all it would do, but she hardly could tell him that she was weaving in a luck in love charm into the cord of the bracelet, designed to do, just as her shop did, lead the man’s feet to a person who could give him a home for his lost heart.

He gave her a sceptical look. “How much?”

“Five Euro.” She said with a wink, and was rewarded with the most brilliant smile. She knew in that moment her own heart was completely taken by this stranger.

“That seems a bit cheap for a magical lucky charm.”

“Well,” she paused and looked around the store. “If you want something more expensive, there is this great silver men’s ring I have.” She gave him a cheeky smile and gestured to it with a flourish. He stared at it for a moment, interested.

“Maybe some other time, I want to test out to see if this luck will work first.”

“Very wise.” She said, giving him change for the 10 euro he offered.

“Best of luck!” she whispered as he left her shop. She stood there, hugging herself and thinking it was sad that she would probably never see him again, and she hoped the person her magic guided him to would realise how lucky the were.

Ladybug wished she could be the person he needed. She wanted to, but her powers didn’t work that way. She couldn’t force him to fall for her, or find comfort in her, all she could do was use her magic to nudge him to a person in his life who could give him what he longed for.

A few days later she saw his face again on a billboard and finally recognised who he was. Adrien Agreste, the golden son of a fashion empire. No wonder he felt pressure keep his public image up, even without being a model, he had been under the public eye for as long as she had been old enough to pay attention to such things. She spent the rest of the day wondering how he was and if he had met his special someone yet.

She would have continued to mull over it all evening, if not a few minutes before closing she had been greatly distracted by the arrival and brisk introduction of Chat Noir.

He had burst into her shop so quickly she would have stepped back in surprise anyway, but his abrupt appearance was made even more alarming by his costume. He looked like trouble on legs; clad in a leather jacket, and matching pants. The black cat ears nestled in his blonde hair and tail fashioned out of a belt dangling from his waist didn’t help.

“I need a good luck charm!”

“Excuse me?” She backed away more, hand digging into her dress pocket to find something she could use as a weapon. Her hand clasped around the smooth shell of her yoyo. Shit. She glanced back at the man, wearing a black witch mask, similar to the own witch mask she wore to keep her identity safe. It had been a long time since she had met another witch, and not all of them were friendly. Chat’s eyes, made cat-like by his mask, widened.

“I need- Sorry where are my manners. My name is Chat Noir. I heard that you are exceptionally talented in good luck charms, and could really use your help.” He bowed and held out his gloved hand.

Ladybug couldn’t help it, a giggle escaped her..

“Yes, well, luck is my specialty, but you aren’t what I would call my usual clientele.”

“I was hoping you would make an exception for me.” He sauntered closer. Ladybug crossed her arms, still clutching her yoyo.

“It depends what you are using it for, Mr Noir.”

“Please, call me Chat.”

“Fine, what do you need a charm for Mr Chat?”

“ Well, I see you are in the business of soothing lonely hearts, I am in the business of tracking down the curses caused by hearts left to fester. You could say I am just drawn to nasty trouble, the same way those in need are drawn to you.”

“Sounds like a hard job.” Ladybug said cautiously, she had heard of it. The way negative emotions could be twisted into curses that would possess places or people and grow stronger the more they fed on misery.

Chat grimaced. “You don’t know the half of it. But I have recently discovered that magic like the kind you can do is extremely useful in purifying cursed sites with minimal damage.”

“So you want me just to give you a charm to use to fight some curse close by, trusting you to use it properly, even though we have just met?”

“Yes, basically.” Chat’s smile faltered. He looked worried, as if it just occurred to him that she might not help him after all. Ladybug grabbed her keys from behind her counter and beckoned him to follow.

“ Don’t be silly. It would obviously be far more useful if I came with you.”

She almost laughed at the expressions that flicked across his masked face: relief, gratitude, excitement and then, suddenly, concern.

“My lady, this work is very dangerous… you could get hurt.”

She grinned and pulled him by the arm out of her shop.

“Don’t let the polka dot dress fool you, kitty. I can handle myself in a fight.”

That first night had proven so successful that they soon fell into a rhythm, sneaking out to dispel curses together in the night. Chat would occasionally turn up at her shop, trouble following at his heels, and she would let him lead her away on one adventure after another.

She almost forgot about Adrien Agreste until he reappeared a few weeks later, shyly saying that while her bracelet seemed to have helped a little, he felt he needed a bit more luck. And so, the man she had fallen in love with on first meeting became a regular in her store, and she guiltily thought that maybe her charms weren’t working for him properly because she didn’t want them to work. The moment they did, Adrien would no longer be nudged into her shop.

It was probably the guilt that motivated her, but when he did by the silver ring, she poured so much good luck into it that she hoped it would last him a life time. However, he still returned a week later, not wearing it.

“What can I do for you today, Adrien.”

“Um...” Adrien said scratching the back of his head. He glanced over to one of the shelves and picked up a blue scarf.

“So... I was thinking it was a bit chilly out and I might grab something from you. Your clothes are always the best.”

Ladybug chuckled.

 “I’m sure your father would be appalled to hear you say that. Especially considering he owns a fashion empire and I own a little dress makers business”

Adrien blushed “I mean, I like his clothes, obviously, but I like yours too.”

Ladybug hummed and took the scarf from him. She tried to ignore the flutter in her stomach or the traitorous thoughts that had caused them, but they snuck into her consciousness anyway.  _Maybe he is just here to see me._

“How is work?” she asked, wondering if maybe she could weave in some more luck into the scarf while he was chatting.

“It’s fine, I mean I think my father is finally getting that I don’t really want to be in the fashion business.”

Ladybug smiled. “That’s good to hear”. She gave him his change and they exchanged goodbyes. She watched him leave, feeling wistful.

 Tikki ducked out of her hiding space. “You’ll overdose him with good luck, Marinette”

 Tikki’s Ladybug-like appearance had given Marinette the name for her store, and her own Witch name, but she wasn’t really a ladybug. She was more of a spirit, who always offered advice, companionship and lots of extra magic. “How can someone overdose on good luck?”

“I am sure we will find out.” Tikki teased, and ducked into hiding as the bell at the door sounded.

 Marinette, still smiling turned to great her new customer. The smile immediately fell when she realised it wasn’t a customer at all, it was Chat Noir.

 

“My Lady, don’t make that face, I thought we were _fur-_ rends” He purred. His smile was slightly nervous as he stalked towards her. She could see faint hints of urgency flickering the eyes behind the black mask he always wore. Not that she could complain about the mask, she wore one too.

It was generally accepted that if you were involved with the magical realm, you kept your identity secret, since there was a lot one could do with the knowledge of someone’s real name. Their masks were only noticeable to others with magical ability. To the average civilian, they would just look like normal people, though their features would be hard to recognise or remember. People generally saw what they expected to see.

Ladybug crinkled her nose. “It’s too early in the day for your puns, Chat. What can I help you with?”

He leaned towards her, resting his arms on the counter. “Can’t I come and say hello to my beautiful Lady?” His smile grew slightly warmer, and Ladybug couldn’t help returning it, while ridiculously obsessed with puns and an insufferable flirt, Chat Noir  _was_  her friend, and one she was fond of. Most of the time.

The rest of the time he was trusted partner in solving magical troubles. Which was why she was concerned he was here; since the first time he had stumbled into her shop, he never made social calls. As if sensing her train of thought, Chat cleared his throat.

“The shop isn’t too busy, is it? I got a call.”

Ladybug breathed out slightly. “What about?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To come: Chat Noir and Ladybug go this Au's version of Akuma hunting. Alya makes an appearance, and we see Marinette without the mask.


	2. The  Garden

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir investigate a curse residential building, and risk becoming part of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank Nocte and Gloomy for betaing this chapter and its readers for waiting so patiently for an update. 
> 
> I have not been well, but i think the love and care put into this chapter by both my lovely betas and me makes up for it a little. I hope you enjoy.
> 
> (please do not repost or use the artwork from this fanfiction without my permission)

 

Ladybug shivered, and only part of it was to do with the autumn chill. She was glad she had thought to grab her coat before shutting her store early and allowing Chat to lead the way. The street was eerily silent as she followed Chat. He motioned her towards a neglected looking building; vines crept through the windows, twisting around the black iron bars of its balconies, as if restraining it. The air around the building was suffocating. She resisted the urge to grab the hem of Chat’s coat and pull him away from it. He seemed to be feeling the same sense of foreboding.

“It’s worse than I thought it would be…” He was frowning, tugging at one of the vines. The vine snapped back at him like a whip. Ladybug jumped back but Chat was not so quick. Sheepishly, he rubbed his hand while surveying the entrance. “This definitely looks like the work of an Akuma.”

Ladybug had her own scowl to mirror his. Neither of them liked Akumas. They weren’t just little curses that got out of hand; there was something deliberate about them. Both Chat and Ladybug were almost certain there was a witch behind them.

“What do we know so far?” she asked, studying the crack of a door, not quite hidden by leaves.

Chat stroked the wood, gently nudging the tangle of vines out of the way. “Not much. I was actually at work when I just felt the call of this place.” He scrunched his nose. “It was just a feeling really.”

Ladybug huffed. “And…?”

“It felt pretty ominous so I thought charging in here without backup might not be the smartest idea.” He heaved the door open ripping the tangled plants apart in the process. Chat and Ladybug had to leap quickly inside before the vines retaliated. Inside it was dark and musty. The air smelt of earth and a faint flowery aroma. Ladybug tensed and the hair on the back of her neck prickled. She had the distinct feeling they were being watched.

She squinted, surveying the foyer for any sign of movement. Plants twisted through the building, sprouting through the cracks in the stone floor, overgrown, as if it had been left abandoned for years. White flowers were scattered in patches around the building, almost glowing in the shadows.

“Don’t touch the flowers!” Chat snapped.

Ladybug withdrew her hand quickly from where it had hovered over a pearly white bloom. She nervously wiped her fingers on her skirt, trying to rub a phantom prickling sensation that crawled up her arm in reaction to his words.

“Why?” she croaked.

“Bad feeling.”

“You get a lot of those.”

“Comes with the job.” The brief smile on his face vanished almost as soon as it had appeared. “Hold on. I think there’s someone here.”

“Where?”

Chat gave a jerky nod to a wooden object so covered in a twisted growth of leaves Ladybug could hardly see what it was. She pulled the foliage away gingerly, revealing a wooden face, frozen in a mask of horror. She twisted, glancing at Chat, wide-eyed.

“Is that… was…. That…. Were they… Chat... was that a-“

“Yeah...” He let out a shaky breath, equally horrified. “I can hear her.”

“What?”

“Listen.”

Closing her eyes she strained to hear something in the silence other than Chat’s soft breathing as he drew closer to her. She had almost given up when she realised he wasn’t talking about sound, because if she had been paying attention, she would’ve noticed magic hissing from the wooden statue, desperate and frightened. As she tuned into it she could feel the whispers of concepts – confused, urgent and fuzzy around the edges like they were fading.

_The flowers... danger…the children …help me…_

“The flowers…” she murmured, turning to Chat.

“I think she is trying to warn us.” He gave her shoulder a squeeze, before turning and hesitantly stepping through the foyer. “I’d bet money these flowers are responsible, it would probably be a good idea to give them a wide _birch_.”

Grimacing at the pun, Ladybug fell into step with Chat. She bit her lip thinking about the poor soul behind her. Now she was aware of what was happening, she could feel their life force throbbing in the air around them, as well as others – a lot of others.

A line of post-boxes, broken by the branches curving through, reinforced her fears. This was a fully inhabited residential building.

“She said something about children…”

“All the more reason to fix this quick-”

Before Chat could finish, Ladybug, tripping over a root, stumbled into him with a grunt.

Well, Ladybug _thought_ she had tripped, until she realised that the root was curled around her ankle. She grabbed onto Chat to anchor herself and tried to pull her ankle free as the root tightened. He reacted just as quickly, wrapping one arm around her and pulling a metal, expandable staff from his belt. However, before he could do anything with it, he was yanked from her grasp and dragged towards the stairs by another root. He yelled and tried to grab her extended arm.

“Chat!” she screamed back as their hands missed and he was dragged away. She twisted around, her body curled, and grabbed the root around her ankle. Grasping tightly, she pulled. It didn’t move. On impulse she tried to tickle the edges and gasped in surprise when the root spasmed and flailed loose.

_Oh._

She leapt up before it could tighten its grip on her again, and ran to Chat who was holding onto the black iron railing to try and prevent himself being pulled up the stairs and into a patch of white flowers. He caught her eye and a trademark mischievous smirk flittered across his face.

“For a moment I was scared you were going to _leaf_ me hanging..”

Ladybug hoped the disapproving look on her face clearly communicated her silent: _“Really? You think this is a good time to joke around?”_

The smirk on Chat’s face widened and Ladybug was left feeling that even if he had got the message it was only encouraging him.

With a huff, Ladybug pushed his face away and strode to where his foot was bound. “Get ready to run,” she warned as she started tickling the root around him.

“What _wood_ I do without you?”

No longer looking at him, Ladybug could hear the cheeky grin from his tone. She felt the root begin to twitch and quickly pulled Chat’s leg free. Her effort to both stand up and move as quickly away from the root as possible, caused her to stumble, and she was grateful for Chat’s steady grasp on her waist, twisting her around and pulling her away in the direction of the apartment’s courtyard.

The courtyard turned out to be the wrong choice. Even though the sun had yet to go down, it was completely blocked out by an overgrown canopy of branches and vines that twisted from the building’s walls and out its windows. The ground was thickly covered in greenery tangled around itself and ghostly white flowers peppered the dark garden.

She felt, rather than saw, Chat fully extend his metal staff ready for a fight. She pulled out her yoyo. When she first met Chat, he had scoffed at it as a weapon, until he realised it was an item given to her by her familiar, meaning that while it looked like an ordinary toy, it was far more than that.

A rustling sound caught her attention and she swung around on the balls of her feet to see _something_ stagger out of the undergrowth. Moving in sharp jagged movements, the thing made of wood held out a hand towards her. She gasped when she realised that its face, doll like in its blank stare and seemingly carved out of wood, was that of a child. Clasped in its tiny, rigid hands were a bunch of white flowers.

_Help me!_

In her mind’s eye she could hear the small child-like voice screaming, hoarse like it had been crying for hours. She swallowed back the bile rising in her throat.

_Help me please, please, please help me!_

She gripped Chat by the hand and pulled him away. As they staggered further into the undergrowth he used his staff to block another plant tendril from grabbing her. She glanced at him, his ashen complexion confirming he had heard the child too.

“The faster we figure out how to stop this the better,” she gritted out between her teeth.

He nodded, silent for once. His lips pressed into a thin line as he scanned the garden. She watched him, trusting his heightened senses for dark spaces to find what they needed. Her lips curled in satisfaction when his eyes narrowed slightly.

“Found it?”

He replied with a firm nod, the ears on the top of his head twitching.

“Look out,” he muttered in a low voice, before swerving round to block a branch from slamming down on them. She turned and saw the child had followed them, inching forward in jerky puppet-like movements. Twirling her yoyo, Ladybug tugged at Chat’s arm.

“Where is it?”

“The thick patch in the center of the garden. I saw something metal. I’m pretty sure there is an Akuma there.”

Ladybug glanced at the mess of entangled wood and greenery. She winced. It would be hard getting through that.

“Think you could clear that for me?”

“You read my mind,” he said, tensing his shoulders. Ladybug stepped back, feeling the slow rush of energy build around her companion. Dark energy swirled from him and gathered around his gloves morphing them into something more claw like. “Cataclysm!” he hissed and raced forward swiping his clawed hands along the thick wood growth. The dark energy emitting from him eroded everything he touched. Clearing a path.

Ladybug slipped by him quickly, saluting as she went. “Can you watch my back?”

“It would be my pleasure,” he barked after her with a wink. Ladybug rolled her eyes, and with one final horrified glance at the wooden girl still jolting her way closer, she flicked the yoyo over a branch and used it to swing herself closer to the centre of the garden. However, she hadn’t counted on the branch protesting as much as it did and she was flung a bit further than she intended, crashing through a thick tangle of leaves and branches, just missing a bed of white flowers.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the shadow of Chat darting across the courtyard to join her. However, she had more urgent moving objects holding her attention. She rolled as a vine whipped down to grab her.

Leaping to her feet she ran, weaving around stretched out branches now sprouting those ominous white flowers. She was vaguely aware of a dark shadow flicking in and out of her periphery. She had to almost crawl though the last bit of flora, reaching a flowerbed bordered in redbrick. In it was a tiny pear tree, empty of fruit and nestled in a thick blanket of white flowers. Embedded in the soil in front of it was a metal garden trowel; the seed.

The seed was like most curses: a tiny little human resentment left to fester; someone’s pent up emotions corrupted to the point it had gained a life of its own. Sometimes the humans became hosts for their curses. Sometimes, when they were lucky, the host was just something or someplace that held special meaning. Ladybug tried to sense if she could tell what was the case with this curse, but it was hard, there was too much _life_ in the garden. Souls, leaves and flowers were all woven into the curse. They called out to her in a chorus – half pleading for release; half beckoning her to join them in their leafy prison.

She flicked her wrist, wrapping her yoyo around the trowel, and pulled. It sprung from the ground, spraying the earth in a wide ark.

As she caught it, she was vaguely aware of Chat shouting. She turned, but was immediately pushed aside by him, and as she stumbled, she saw what he had pushed her away from. There, close to where she had been, stood another child with a hollow wooden face. It was holding a bunch of flowers in its hand, flowers that were now brushing against Chat’s leg.

Chat let out a groan. The leather of his thigh began to lighten and flake away like bark and his chest rose and fell in shallow pained breaths. Ladybug stared, wide eyed in horror – her mouth open in a voiceless scream.

“Who- _wood.._ you hu- mind h-hurrying it up a bit, my lady? Who-hu- Don’t know how much hu- agh- _Thyme_ I have hhh- before I’m argh.. _bushed_.” He tried to keep his voice level, but it wobbled as he clasped his upper thigh, watching the curse spread through his leg.

Too concerned to give her usual rebuke about joking at inappropriate times, Ladybug stepped towards him, the trowel and wooden child forgotten. Chat’s eyes widened, and he lunged forward just as the child did. Ladybug was knocked back as he curled himself around the child, grasping it tightly, the white flowers pressed against his arms and chest. His body shook in silent agony as the curse spread and his breaths became more shallow.

“Ladybug!” he panted. “Hur…ry….”.

Ladybug scrambled to her feet and clutched the trowel tightly. She could feel the curse emanating from it like a silent howl of energy. She could feel the seed of the curse screaming from inside of it.

_NEGLECTED, NEGLECTED, NO ONE RESPECTS, NO ONE RESPECTS THE GARDEN, NO ONE RESPECTS THE CARE I GIVE, CARELESS CHILDREN, DESTROYING THE FLOWER BEDS, LITTERING, SELFISH, UNAPPRECIATING…_

The worst part was she could feel Chat’s life force seeping away from him and becoming part of the forest. She glanced back at his prone form; there was sweat on his brow, his face tense and his eyes firmly shut. The curse had spread up his torso and covered most of his chest. It was taking every bit of his concentration to keep himself together.

Tikki, who was quietly hidden in her purse, crawled out to give her a little encouraging nudge. She could do this. She had to do this, and soon. Or Chat…

She didn’t want to think about it. With one last worried glance at her friend, she connected her magic to Tikki, and _pushed_ her magic, a lucky charm, into the seed. The energy flowed through her in a bright red light, lighting up the inside of her eyes as it swirled around her. She closed her eyes as focused on channelling it through the trowel. The fear of loosing Chat made every push of her magic feel more urged and desperate.

She felt the flicker of something dark trying to escape and her eyes snapped open just in time to see a purple and black butterfly flutter away from the once cursed trowel. No wonder the curse had felt so dangerous. A witch had been behind it, and had left his calling card, an Akuma. She dropped the trowel, ignoring it clatter on the earth and reached for her yoyo. She flicked open a side compartment and threw it, trapping the butterfly inside. Tikki’s magic did the rest – cleansing magic that washed over it, leaving nothing but a sparkling white butterfly that fluttered away harmlessly.

But Ladybug was not done. The Garden and her friend still needed her help. Holding onto the pear tree, she used it as a beacon to cast another of her lucky charms to send a wave of cleansing magic over the whole building. She could feel the curse in the garden begin to melt around her, burned away by her own bright red light. She sighed in relief as her lucky charm flowed over the building. Vines vanished and cracks mended themselves. She could feel the panicked souls quieten too, alive and restored to their natural forms. She chanced a look at Chat, now kneeling in front of two crying (and no longer wooden) children, trying to calm them.

She slipped next to him, resting her hand on his shoulder as a silent apology that he had gotten hurt, and secretly checked for herself that he was all right. She couldn’t look at him. Not in the eye and not when it was her fault. And here she was meant to be helping him.

“It’s okay,” Chat was crooning to the children, his voice low and soothing. “No more scary plants. You see, this lovely lady and I got rid of them all for good. I’m sure your mom is looking for you though, why don’t you go find her.”

The two children hiccupped back tears and nodded. The elder girl led her younger brother to a woman who had appeared by the entrance to the building. She had a perplexed, anxious expression on her face.

“I wish you could make the children forget, like you can make the adults,” Chat whispered to Ladybug, his breath tickling her ear.

Ladybug looped her arm in his, leaning close. “Me too. It’s their minds. They are too open to the possibility of magic, there is not enough to fog up what they saw… but…” she looked up at him smiling sadly, “you know as well as I do that in a few years they will forget. It will all just be a bad dream.”

“That’s still a few years too many,” he muttered.

She gave her surprisingly gentle and sensitive companion a nudge with her hip. “Come on, let’s go.”

He obliged, following her closely until they were outside and down the street from the apartment building. She wanted to say she was sorry. She wanted to thank him. But she didn’t know how and for some reason she wasn’t quite sure she could face it. Instead, she turned to bid him goodbye but caught him watching her, something intense glittered in his eyes, unreadable.

She inhaled, mouth slightly opened but before she could get out a sound, he cut her off.

“Have dinner with me.”

She laughed at the abruptness of his request. He stepped closer, causing her to tilt her head up to keep eye contact. His hand hovered over her arm, but didn’t quite touch. Still, the suggestion of his gloved hands grazing her shoulder caused a slight simmer in her. They were close. So close, if she leaned up a little, she could brush her lips against his. The possibility curled inside her chest, exhilarating and a little scary. She blinked a few times to shake off the feeling, pulling her face away and sucking her top lip nervously. She couldn’t let herself get carried away by his flirting. It didn’t mean anything; she knew that it was only part of his witch persona.

“You’re such a _tomcat_.”

The deep answering chuckle made her insides squirm, and she had to look away, hoping the flush of heat on her face wasn’t as noticeable as it felt.

“How is it you are always giving me grief for making puns, and there you go making your own.”

“That’s because I know when it’s a good time to pun; like _not_ when we are in danger.”

The heat in Chat’s eyes focussed on her chewed lip. He flashed his teeth with a devilish smile.

“Oh… I don’t know... What makes you think you aren’t in danger now?” He leaned in close enough for Ladybug to smell his distinctive masculine scent.

Oh she _definitely_ had to get that obnoxious smirk off his face.

“I think…” she said slowly, crooking a finger under his chin and pushing his face away, “that if anyone is in danger it’s you, little kitty cat.” She dodged by him, unable to resist an exaggerated sway of her hips as she did. She had to admit it was a little fun to flirt back sometimes. It was just a bit of fun after all. It didn’t mean anything. He was just a flirt, and her heart already belonged to someone else.

“Oh, don’t worry,” his voice was so breathless, she had to glance back, and was struck again by the indecipherable look he was giving her. “It’s too late for me.”

She laughed it off, but the concern edged into her voice. “What do you mean?”

He gave a shrug, his smile not reaching his eyes. He stepped forward again.

“It’s late, you’ll be hungry after all that magic. Maybe you should consider my offer.”

She sighed, closing her eyes. “Chat you know it’s a bad idea.”

He was close again. She felt his exhale, a puff of air on her face. He tilted her chin up with his fingers and she reluctantly opened her eyes to meet his.

“No I don’t. Would it be so bad if we knew each other, properly, my lady? Don’t you trust me?”

“Of course I do, but-“

“-but it’s not a risk you are willing to take, I know.”

“I’m sorry.” And she was, for _everything._ For putting him in danger, for making a mistake, for not being about to trust him even after he had saved her, but she couldn’t give him this, even in guilt. Chat was a good friend, but knowing each other’s identities put them both in danger. Plus the thought of him meeting her as Marinette filled her with a rush of frightened emotions she couldn’t quite explain.

“I’m sorry if I made you feel pressured. I just…” Chat frowned. “I want you to know, that if you’re ever ready... the invitation is there.”

“Yeah.”

“Can I walk you back to your shop at least?” he suggested.

Ladybug was suddenly filled with fondness for her partner, but she declined. “No, I think I’ll be fine. You must be tired, too. Go home, I’ll see you later.”

“See you later, my lady.”

She waved and began to walk home, only looking back to make sure he had gone, for she was tired and eager to be alone with her thoughts. The image of his pained face as his body slowly turned to wood, etched into her memory.

 

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBC- Next chapter: Alya has some big news and the girl behind the mask meets someone new.
> 
> [music I listened to while writing this chapter: Headlock-imogen Heap: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXdIxKQ-qWQ


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